Past Mistakes
by charmedtomeetyou
Summary: What? Does he think were on some joy trip to the past? We have important business here and we have enough on our hands without having to teach little delinquents.
1. Chapter 1

Past Mistakes

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. If I did I'd be incredibly rich and famous and I wouldn't have to go to school… Geez.. I really need to become famous…

Chapter 1:

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

There was no trace of a smile on his face. No mischievous glint in his eyes. Someone looking from afar might have thought that he was simply staring off into space. But if one got close enough, you could see the sorrow in his eyes, with unshed tears threatening to spill. But then again, if you had just heard your only sons horrible fate in a few short sentenced, you would be bitching at the world too.

_Why Harry? Out of all the people in this bloody world, it had to be him. Some stupid prophesy comes up that says that he might have the power to stop Voldemort and its already dictating his life. Like everyone's depending on him even though he only a baby._

He kicked the table in front of him, effectively stubbing his toe. Then he sighed and ran a hand through his hopelessly messy hair. He remembered it clearly, as it had only happened about half an hour ago.

FLASBACK:

_Lily was sobbing uncontrollably into James shoulder, while he rubbed comforting circles across her back. Dumbledore glanced sorrowfully at the young couple, all the twinkle gone from his eyes. _

"_I'm very sorry that this has happened but there is nothing that we can do to change it. But now I must warn you of the possible danger that you are in. I would prefer it we did the Fidelius Charm for your own safety, and Harry's of course. I was going to volunteer myself as secret keeper…" _

"_I want Sirius to do it." James interrupted rather rudely. "I want him to be our secret keeper." _

"_Are you sure? Because despite what you think, it is very possible that he could be..."_

"_No" he responded firmly. "Sirius will do it. I trust him." Dumbledore looked to Lily who simply nodded. _

"_Very well. I suggest that you get some sleep and maybe talk to Sirius tomorrow. It would also be advisable if you got a backup secret keeper. You never know what could happen, though I'm not saying that anything will."_

"_Remus" he answered without even thinking. Its not that he didn't like Peter, but he was never as capable as He, Sirius and Remus. Plus its not like he would accept it anyway, he would be too scared. He was the only one from the marauders who was still afraid to say Voldemort's name. _

"_Well that's all settled." Dumbledore rose from the couch. "But first I must warn you about who you tell the prophesy to. Remember, there are spies all around. We can never be too careful...In the risk of sounding like, what was that? Oh yes, a broken record… I must say again that I am very truly sorry. If I could change everything I would. Well, good evening." And with one last glance at the seemingly frozen couple, he apparated away with a loud pop. _

_Shifting away from her previous frozen position, Lily got up so suddenly that James got a little startled. "Lily?" he called, his voice sounding scratchy. She just ignored him and stomped up the stairs, her red hair flailing around behind her. He put his head unto his hands, and started thinking about what had happened that night._

END OF FLASHBACK

He got up from the couch and silently climbed the stairs, berating himself for not checking up on her sooner. He peered cautiously into their bedroom. The bed was still made and there was no sign of Lily. He went into Harry's room and stopped at the doorway, the sight he saw made his already faded hazel eyes turn a dull grey, and his already heavy heart sink lower into his stomach. Lily was sitting in a dark corner, clutching Harry as though she could shield him from all the evil in the world. She rocked him gently in her arms, and sang a comforting lullaby under her breath. But her brilliant green eyes were troubled and tears were cascading down her cheeks. He quickly rushed to her side and enveloped the both of them into a gentle yet desperate hug.

"Everything is going to be alright, Lils. We'll get through this." He whispered. She turned to face him. "Will we?" she asked, her normally strong and firm voice shaking. "Yes we will. We'll get through it together." He said, trying to comfort himself as well as Lily. She simply nodded and buried her face in his tight embrace. After a while, everything went quiet. They couldn't hear a thing, save for the rustling of leaves dancing outside Harry's bedroom window.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

In the future….

_Ech.. Gotta wash these, _he thought, looking down at his bloodstained robes. They had finally found Nagini and cornered her. She had put up quite a good fight, but in the end she never really stood a chance.

He was in a big deserted house. Of course Voldemort wasn't there, and he was glad of it too. He didn't think that Voldemort would be too happy about his pet snake's fate. She had probably gone wandering around to look for more food. This had probably been an old hideout of Voldemort, and she returned maybe remembering some food she had stored in there.

He grasped the hilt of the sword embedded into the snake's body, and pulled it out roughly. Then he heard the door creak…

"Whoa... Easy there mate. We're on your side remember?"

Harry relaxed at the sound of Ron's voice and lowered his sword. Those words had a big impact on him. In the beginning it hadn't seemed that big a deal, but now he was truly thankful that they had chosen to come with him rather than return to school. He really needed them.

"Did you get the…oh..." Hermione trailed off seeing Harry standing over Nagini's still body. Ron looked relieved. "Oh bloody hell, finally!" Hermione glared at him. "What! I have a right to curse don't I? We've been chasing the bloody thing for a long time now..it's been getting really annoying!" "I know!" Hermione responded. "But I just feel sorry for it... it's not his fault that Voldemort chose him for a pet!" "Well what are you going to do? Start an organization like spew? Except it'll be called something like pastbtew for 'Protect all Snakes that belong to Evil Wizards'" Ron said. "Its SPEW you stupid ass!" Harry cut in because he knew how ugly their arguments could get, and he really didn't have the time or the energy to deal with 2 snappy, moody best friends.

"Well Hermione's half right; it's not really his fault that Voldemorts been reading RULING THE WORLD FOR DUMMIES." Hermione snorted while Ron just looked confused. "Yeah," Hermione agreed. "CHAPTER 24: Obtaining your own evil pet."

Harry laughed some more while Ron just looked furious at not knowing what was so funny. "Sorry Ron, muggle thing. Anyways, Ron's also right." Ron brightened up while Hermione scowled. "It's like the deatheater situation. Since Voldemorts a parseltongue, he probably spoke to Nagini first. And if she agreed to help him kill people, than that's her decision. Just like all the deatheaters that were once good." He said, remembering Wormtail.

"Harry, what's that?" Hermione pointed at figure coming towards them from the sky. _An Owl_, Harry realized as it came closer. It dropped a piece of paper into his hands and flew off. Harry looked down and understood. It was a new edition of the quibbler.

The Daily Prophet had closed down about a month ago right after Hogwarts was attacked. The people running it feared that deatheaters would come after them for spreading news and warning people of what was happening. A cowardly thing to do, but he couldn't really blame them for wanting to protect themselves and their families. The quibbler was the only newspaper that was still running. But it was a good thing that deatheaters underestimated it, otherwise the order wouldn't have had the opportunity to use it for communication.

"Voldemort's push-up bra" he recited to the headline that read:

**YOU-KNOW-WHO USING AN ARMY OF HELIOPATHS? **

He struggled to keep his face straight while Ron just burst out laughing. "Honestly Harry, couldn't you and Ron think of a better password?" Hermione asked, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Hermione had been the one who had had the idea of using the quibbler, but Ron and Harry were in charge of passwords. "Think of it this way Hermione," Ron said trying to catch his breath. "The deatheaters will NEVER guess this password, and it's unlikely that the order will forget it either." "Plus," Harry added "It would help people learn to say his name, and it would help boost their morale, you know. Like 'Why be scared of a Dark Lord who wears push-up bras?' Right?" Hermione sighed "Well, what does it say?" He looked down at the changed headline and gasped. "What is it?" Ron asked. They made their way over to Harry and read over his shoulder. It read:

Attack at the Ministry. Sorry to ask but we need you badly. We're outnumbered 4:1.

Pinkie

"Shit." Hermione whispered. Ron looked shocked. "They're attacking the Ministry already? But it's just been a few months since Hogwarts!" "They've had a lot of time to plan. So, I guess we should get going?" Harry looked at the two of them. Ron rubbed his aching muscles. "Yeah I guess so, but mums not going to be happy about this..." They apparated away, but not before Hermione hastily cleaned the blood and sent Nagini's body into the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

They apparated in and were met by the loud noises that could only be caused by a fight. They all ran into different directions, meeting their own deatheater. Harry sent a stunner in the direction of his deatheater and amazingly, it hit its target. The three of them, along with Ginny, had been practicing defensive spells all summer, and it had helped them greatly. He fought off a few more deatheaters, then ducked into a hallway to catch his breath. Panting, he realized that he was in the Department of Mysteries. _Brings back such happy memories_, he thought bitterly. He saw a swish of dark brown hair disappear behind a door and slipped in just before the doorways started spinning. He turned around and saw a young female deatheater with her mask off, holding a tiny figurine in her hands. A tiny figurine of a… badger? He looked at the shelf that she had stolen it from.

ARTIFACTS WITH UNEXPLAINABLE DARK MAGIC

Then it said under in the slot where she had gotten it :

Helga Hufflepuff's Glass Figurine

But what would something of Hufflepuffs be doing in a shelf with dark artifacts? Unless... No… It was impossible... Or was it?

He had no more time to argue with himself because at that moment the young deatheater spoke. "What are you doing in here? Get out or I'll… I'll kill you!" she said, using her most intimidating voice. But he knew that she was scared out of her wits. _Must be one of his young recruits, _He thought sadly. "Listen, what's your name?" Harry spoke gently. "Like I would tell you my name" she sneered. He rolled his eyes. Was it a must that all deatheaters had to perfect the Snape sneer? It was so damn annoying. "Fine" he said, his voice going cold. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to know what you are doing with that." He pointed at the figurine in her hand. "Nothing. I'm not telling you anything!" she shouted fiercely. "Then give it to me" his voice was a deadly whisper now. She stepped back. "No! I'm not…" Then it happened. It happened so fast that Harry barely had time to comprehend what was happening. She stepped back and bumped into another shelf, knocking down jar with a dark red substance in it. It landed into a miniature pond that had yellow worm like animals swimming around. Then it exploded, and Harry flew back and landed hard on his head, making him pass out.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Is he going to be alright?"

"Yes I think so. He's a tough lad, Harry.

"Too tough… It's lucky he's got such a hard head right 'Mione?"

"Well, yes I suppose so..."

"Quiet everyone! The boy needs quiet and he won't get that with you lot yapping around"

"Moody!"

"Ouch! Dammit what was that for!"

"For being so damn grouchy"

"Yeah… tell him Tonks!"

"Ron!"

"Uggh..." he groaned. All the voices stopped immediately. He opened his eyes.

"Harry!" Hermione dove on top of him and gave him a bone-crushing hug. "Ow…I can't breathe!" "Oh, sorry" The fuzzy brown figure that he figured was Hermione smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I was just worried." "Yeah mate… you scared us there for a minute." The red blob replied. He sat up rubbing his head. "Glasses..?" "Oh, here Harry." Someone slipped them on him and the world, including the pink blob that had given him his glasses, came into focus. "Wotcher Harry!" Tonks greeted him. "Alright there boy?" the gruff sound of Moody's voice asked. "Yeah, I think I'm fine. What happened?" he asked. "Don't you remember?" Hermione asked worriedly. He tried. The young deatheater, the artifact, the jar, the pond, the explosion! "There was an explosion in the Department of Mysteries. Wait, where are we now?" he stood up, remembering the artifact of Hufflepuff. "We're still at the ministry. You've only been out of it for about 30 minutes since the explosion." "What about the deatheaters?" he asked. Moody chuckled. "Bloody cowards. When the Department of Mysteries blew up, they thought we had gotten desperate enough that we would blow the entire Ministry up! Stupid gits…" "Yes, but where did they go?" "Apparated away, but unfortunately lots of them stayed and stole important equipment and documents." "What kind of documents?" Harry asked. She sighed. "VERY important ones. He stole lists of addresses, fighting equipment, books on dark spells… well, a lot. Don't make me list them, it just makes me even more depressed. "Ok..." "Well," Moody said, straightening up. "We've got to go Tonks. Find survivors." "Yes that's probably what we should do." Hermione said. "The three of us will look…" "Upstairs." Harry cut in. "We should look upstairs. You guys should go rejoin the other Aurors. We'll meet you back at Headquarters. " "You're right. Well, nice seeing you lot again. Thanks for coming. It was a big help." Tonks said. "No problem" Hermione smiled. The 2 of them apparated away leaving Harry, Ron and Hermione alone. "Harry, Why do you want to look in the department of Mysteries?" Hermione inquired in a firm voice. "We all know that you and the deatheater were the only ones in there. Unless there was someone else…?" He should have known she would be the one to figure out what he was doing. "Just follow me" They climbed the stairs, since appparating took a lot of energy, especially for those new at it.

They reached the department of Mysteries and went into the room where the explosion had occurred. It was burned all over. There were ashes everywhere, and smoke polluted the air. Coughing, Harry made his way over to where he thought the deatheater had last been standing. "The female deatheater… did she live?" "No, she died. Mind you, she was so badly burned I couldn't tell that she was a woman. It's a good thing Tonks is a good healer though, so she was able to heal you… What were you doing here anyway?" she demanded. He proceeded to tell them about what had occurred starting from the moment he spotted the deatheater, to the explosion.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hermione gasped. "So, you think that it could be a horocrux?"

"Makes sense though, doesn't it? Why would anything Hufflepuff have dark magic unless Voldemort did something tricky to it?" Ron replied, having gotten over his fear of the name over the summer. ("If I can't even say his bloody name, what hope do I have of helping you guys kill FRAGMENTS OF HIS SOUL?")

"You're right, but I still can't find it!" Harry said, rummaging through a pile of ashes. "Harry, it was probably burned. That was a rather big explosion. Honestly, you're lucky to be alive!" Hermione said. "But I need to find it!" Harry persisted stubbornly. Ron looked confused as always. "If it's destroyed, why do you want it so much? That must mean that we only have 1 more horocrux to find!" he said cheerfully. "Ron, just because we can't find it, doesn't mean it's destroyed. You said that the deatheaters stole important things before they left. What if they stole that too?" "Harry, It's a stupid figurine! We're not even sure if this is a horocrux! Plus it would have smashed meaning it got destroyed."

"What if Voldemort made it unbreakable? I'm sure he wouldn't want something so breakable to hold a piece oh his soul. But this is so ancient and priceless; I bet he couldn't wait to get his hands on it." They paused. "That does make sense," Hermione said. "But if they did get it, they probably brought it straight to Voldemort. Meaning we have no way of getting even close to it, let alone destroying it." Harry put his head in his hands and sighed. "We should get back to Grimmauld Place. Maybe if we got cleaned up a bit, our heads would be clearer. Plus we can ask Remus about it…" Harry nodded. He couldn't think of anything else to right now anyway.

"Er…" Hermione started. "You guys go ahead, I just have to check on something." Ron stepped forward." We'll help you..." "No. I'll just be a minute." Ron still looked like he wanted to help. "Oh for Gods sake just get out of here! I'll be there soon!" she said, irritated. "Fine" Ron said in a steely voice. He turned to Harry. "Let's get out of here." Harry nodded. With one last look at Hermione, but it was a glare in Ron's case, they apparated away.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

She looked around for a few minutes, then ran towards a piece of ceiling that had caved in. She spotted a hole underneath. Her small frame fit in perfectly and she stood up in the dark space under the broken ceiling. "There you are. I knew they'd have one" she murmured to herself, seeing a small filing cabinet in the corner. She opened it and saw thousands of files. _So much for SMALL._

She looked in the section marked: HUBB-HUFF. Even though the interval was rather small, there were hundreds of files in that section alone. She searched for a minute, her brow furrowed in concentration, until she spotted it. _YES! Gotcha…_The document was labeled:

ARTFACTS: HUFFLEPUFF

She scanned through the pages until she saw:

GLASS FIGURINE

DONOR: Will remain anonymous for safety precautions

DATE DONATED: --

CASE: Figurine said to make the owners insane on and off.

PRICE: Not for Sale

MURDERS: 16

She gasped. This artifact really was a horocrux. It had to be. And now it was probably in Voldemorts hands. They would never get it. If they never destroyed it, how would Harry fight Voldemort in the Final Battle? She knew it was coming. They all knew. But they never spoke about it. They just continued working harder and faster. If they didn't destroy all of the horocruxes. Harry would have no hope. He would probably die and Voldemort would STILL come back. She stifled a small sob. _I'm too young for this. I don't regret going with Harry, but I still wish that we could just be normal wizard kids._

Then she remembered her promise to Ron. Sighing, she shrunk the documents, and put it into her front pocket. She also made a note to tell Kingsley about these leftover documents. Thankfully, the deatheaters had missed them. She stepped out of the debris and was about to apparate out, when a golden sparkle caught her eye. She turned around and saw a shelf with a sign that said:

TIMETURNERS

Hermione sighed, looking down at the floor where the worlds last and only timeturners lay, smashed. The Ministry had stopped lending them to others when the war had started. Too risky they said, and they were right. But then she saw something else that made her breath stop. On the floor, almost fully covered by ashes, were two golden timeturners. And they didn't have so much as a scratch on them.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A/N: Pls. review! Here's some stuff that could happen in chapter 2:

Hermione figures out that those timeturners could be the solutions to all their problems

Lily and James tell Remus and Sirius about the prophesy, and about the Fidelius Charm

Ginny plays an important part in the trio's plan

Voldemort is plotting something… but what?


	2. Chapter 2

Past Mistakes

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for the plot… makes me feel even more depressed….

Chapter 2:

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**"AHHHH! BLOOD TRAITORS! ALL OF YOU! INFECTING THE MOST NOBLE HOUSE OF…."**

"That would be Hermione…. I'll get the door… would you mind shutting her up?" Ron pointed to the portrait of the screaming Mrs. Black. "Alright…" Harry covered his ears and, with as much strength as he could muster, yanked the curtains closed.

Ron opened the door and fell over as a blur of brown hair came running in.

"Oops… Sorry about that Ron." She said, helping him to his feet.

"You don't look that sorry" he rubbed his head, noticing Hermione's thousand watt smile. "What happened? Did you run into Professor Lockhart?" he smirked. "Oh funny Ron. I'm just cracking up, really I am." She said sarcastically.

Harry came into the room looking as though he had just wrestled a troll. And it looked real enough seeing as he really had wrestled one before. Well, sort of wrestled. "Hermione!" he exclaimed, while trying to catch his breath. "What took you so long? You said you'd only be a minute."

"See I told you! She did see Lockhart- OW!" She had smacked him hard in the arm. "That really hurt!"

"Well serves you right…" she smirked. "Harry," she turned to face him. "I have something important to tell you, I…"

"HERMIONE! RON! HARRY!"

Ginny came bounding down the stairs and gave each of them a crushing hug. Harry's was the longest one though. _At least she's not mad at me anymore,_ he thought as he remembered one particular night.

FLASHBACK:

It was the night of Bill's wedding. They were having the reception at the garden of the Burrow. Everyone was chatting and congratulating Bill and Fleur on their marriage. But none of it looked like how a real wedding reception should be. People kept on glancing around nervously and when they would talk, they would keep their voices in hushed tones. In the rare event that people would laugh, they would keep it short and quiet, as though deatheaters would jump up from the bushes if anyone dared laugh loudly. Dumbledore's murder had really made everyone even more twitchy then they already were.

Harry stood next to the refreshments table and took a sip of his butterbeer. He looked calm and collected on the outside, and the only outward sign that would tell you otherwise was his fingers drumming nervously on the table. He was nervous. He, along with Ron and Hermione, was leaving tomorrow to the find the horocruxes. He looked towards the table that Ron and Hermione were occupying. They were arguing… again. He guessed that it was about Ron's table manners because Hermione was waving a napkin around, trying to wipe his mouth but Ron kept dodging away. He really didn't want to go there. It was so horrible that they flirted so much, but didn't even realize it.

_One day I should just lock the two of them in a room and order them to start_

_making out... Eww bad mental image…_he shook his head, trying to get the thought of his two best friends kissing out of his brain.

He looked at another table at a far corner of the garden and there was Ginny, sitting by herself. Even though he knew it would be incredibly awkward, he went and sat next to her. As predicted, an awkward silence followed.

"So…. Shifty crowd tonight huh? I mean… who goes home at 6 during a party?" she motioned to the guests who were saying their goodbyes to the newlyweds. "Yeah…pretty weird." He responded, glad that she had broken the silence. But it was too much to wish for because another silence soon came.

"Look," Harry said, breaking the silence once more.

"I'm really sorry about –"

"Breaking up with me?" he winced. "Um.. yeah. I know that –"

"Actually, I understand…"

"You do?" he asked, amazed. Only a few days ago she had been ready to rip his hair out. "Yah. Had a chat with mom and she stutters a lot less than you when she explains stuff." She smirked.

Harry smiled back, relieved that she was reverting back to her usual smart ass self. "She said that you had the right reasons, and there's too much going on to even have a relationship right now and blah blah blah… I didn't listen much. My favorite song was playing on the radio. I agreed to not kill you… yet. But I have one condition." She looked at him. He gulped. "What's the condition? She leaned over and whispered in his ear. "You and me? Yah…as soon as this war stuff is over, were getting back together." He raised an eyebrow.

"Really? And what makes you say that I want to get back together? How do you know that that wasn't just my excuse to break up with you?" he smirked. She gasped in mock surprise, then rolled her eyes. "In your dreams Potter. You know you can't resist me." She said, flipping her hair. "Actually it's YOU who can't get enough of my charm and good looks." They laughed and continued bickering.

_Well, at least Ron and Hermione aren't the only ones flirting. _

END OF FLASHBACK

She let go of him and turned to Ron and Hermione, only to find them smirking and sending him knowing looks.

"So anyway…" he said, trying to get them to stop smirking at him. "What did you have to tell us Hermione?" Obviously it worked because Hermione started bouncing excitedly on her toes. "Oh! It's about the horocrux."

"Ginny, go away..." Ron asked in a monotone voice.

"Hey!" She glared at him. "Wait Ron it's alright! Actually I was planning on telling Ginny too…"

"Fine" he grumbled and sat on the couch. "Wait!" Hermione pulled him up. "Let do this upstairs. Who else is home?" "Remus" Ginny answered. "But its full moon tonight so he's locked himself up in the attic. He's taken his potion of course."

"How?" Harry asked. "I don't think Snape would be so willing to brew one up now right?" Ginny answered. "Well luckily Dumbledore forced him to teach Remus before he umm...yeah."

They were silent for awhile. They had all avoided touching the subject of Dumbledore's death, but every once in a while it came up.

"So…" Hermione continued as though she had never stopped talking. Ron must have noticed it too because he started sniggering quietly, but Hermione ignored him and went on. "That horocrux….."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"But why wasn't the deatheater affected when she touched it?" Ginny asked curiously. "Well she wasn't exactly unaffected." Ron said. "What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"Well you said it yourself; she was burned so badly that we couldn't tell she was a woman. Harry was also badly injured but not as bad as her. It must have been because of the horocrux. Although were not really sure what it does yet." They stared at him.

"What! I think too!" he said defensively.

"Anyway," Hermione continued, grinning slightly. "That's probably the real reason for why the deatheaters left. One of them saw the body and freaked out. Told the others to retreat, but of course not before stealing some stuff. Like the horocrux."

"So… why are you telling this to us? Not exactly making us feel any better knowing that were screwed…" Ron said bluntly.

"Actually," she said, pulling out one timeturner. "I know how to get it back."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

They gaped at her. "Look, I know I'm very attractive but this is getting ridiculous…."

"Wow, Hermione makes smart ass remarks when she's happy…. Or are you just spending too much time with Ginny?" he smirked, but if you looked really closely, you could see the small pink patches that appeared on his cheeks.

"Ha-ha….Funny"

"Where did you get it?" Harry asked, looking excited. "At the Ministry. While I was talking to Professor Lockhart….."

"Wow… it's either you're really happy now, or you need to stop being friends with my sister."

"Ron, Shut Up! So, I guess you know what my plan is then?" They nodded. "How Far…?" "Just about an hour" Hermione answered his unfinished question. "So that's

1 turn. Quite simple actually. Just get there before the deatheaters steal it… after the explosion of course… Sorry Harry but that's what drove the deatheaters away…So…. Any more questions before we go?"

Ron's eyes widened. "Were going NOW?"

"Yes of course… no better time than the present!" she said cheerfully. "Then let's do it!" Harry said, leaping up and putting the chain around his neck. "Coming Ron?" Ginny called as she too put the chain around her neck.

"What's with everyone and being cheerful?" he grumbled, before he too put it around his neck. Hermione spinned the timeturner around once, and they disappeared instantly.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Or I'll….I'll kill you!"

"Wow… I'm trembling with fear…"

"Quiet Ron! They might hear us." Hermione hissed as they crouched behind a shelf, watching the scene in front of them. "No but you have to admit… she's a pretty lame deatheater. Now I think I've learned to fully appreciate all the hard work and effort people like Snape give…" Ginny rolled her eyes. "I think she's a newbie. It's pretty sad, she probably only joined them because they threatened her family or something…"

"Shhh! It's almost time! Get ready." Harry whispered.

"Almost time for what? What's –"

BOOOM!

"happening…." Ron finished. "Ginny coughed as ashes floated around the room. "Quiet! Sorry Gin but there might be deatheaters…" Hermione whispered. "We have to move quickly!" They scurried around the room, looking for the deatheater amongst all the ashes.

"I found her!" Hermione squealed.

"And she tells us to be quiet… honestly." Ron grumbled. But then they heard her gasp. "But wait…. Oh God what was I thinking….."

"What's wrong Hermione?" Harry asked, looking worried.

"How are we supposed to hold it?" His forehead creased before he realized what she meant. "Shit!"

"And THAT….." Ginny came stalking towards them with a pair of dragon hide gloves in her hands. "is why you should be damn bloody grateful that I'm here."

"Ginny what're you… GINNY!"

"What!"

"Just because you're wearing gloves doesn't mean it can't hurt you!"

"Yeah! GIN NO! Remember what happened to Katie Bell?"

"I'll be fine…."

"NO! GINNY! Step away from the…….."

There was a silence as Ginny gingerly picked up the figurine. But they released their breath in relief when she started juggling it around in their faces.

"Pussies…." She smirked.

"Ginny… don't you ever…"

"Oh save it, I'm fine. Not a scratch, see?"

"I know, but that was still really risky…"

"Hey, at least we know that Charlie didn't get me a cheap Christmas present."

Hermione sighed, then gave her a this-talk-is-far-from-over-I'm-kicking-your-ass-when-we-get-home look.

"Come on guys, let's get home." They put on the chain again, and this time she turned it forward.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"This is taking really long…. why is it taking so long? I'm hungry"

"Ron you're always hungry…"

"It befuddles me how you can think of food at a time like this….."

"Stop using big words Hermione… Just because you want to feel superior…"

"I do NOT use big words to feel superior! It's just all part of my vocabulary!"

"Suuuuure…"

"RON!"

"Hey Ron, you can add this to your list. PLACES WHERE IVE FELT HUNGRY:

Hogwarts….."

"Guys, something is definitely wrong here."

"The Burrow…."

"Let's just wait until it stops… I'm so dizzy I can't see anything…"

"Traveling through time…."

"Okay we get it, you can stop now Harry…"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Guys…."

"65 bottles of butterbeer on the wall, 65 bottles of butterbeer…"

"RON! We're here."

"Finally. Let's go home…I'm…"

"Hungry. Yah. So we've heard…"

"Wait!"

"What is it Ginny?"

They turned around and saw her staring at her gloves, her eyes wide. "What's wrong?" Hermione walked towards her.

"The horocrux."

"What about it?" Harry asked worriedly.

"It's gone"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"What? How did it…."

"I think it fell, during the trip home."

"Nice going, Gin" Ron said, glaring at her. "Now it's lost in time…. Now I don't think even Voldemort can find it."

"Hey! It was a bumpy ride!"

"Guys" Harry whispered. "I don't think we traveled to the right time."

"But that's impossible!" Hermione looked over at her timeturner. "I did it correctly. I….damn."

"What is it?" Ginny peeked over her shoulder. The timeturner was smashed, and it was soaked with a red liquid. "I recognize that….It what caused the explosion… but what did it do to the timeturner?"

Ron snorted. "How would we know? There are lots of weird stuff in the Department of Mysteries… Because what red liquid THING do you know that causes explosions and screws up timeturners? But… how do you know we're not in the right time?" He asked Harry. He simply pointed across the very large room, where a figure was doing some paperwork on a desk.

"Because I never knew that Remus was an unspeakable."

And sure enough, when the figure lifted it head, the face of a much younger Remus Lupin was illuminated by the moonlight coming from a single window.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"I have a brilliant idea!" Hermione whispered excitedly.

"Care to share?"

"Yeah… she will… but first she's going to patent it..."

"I will not! Ok listen to this… what about….we look for the horocrux here!"

"WHAT?"  
"That's crazy…"

"But crazy plans always work…"

"But it's still crazy…"

"My point exactly."

"Ummmm… but look. It's not on that shelf anymore. Or should I say yet. It could be anywhere!" Ron said, glancing at the shelf.

"Well" she pulled something out from the file she was holding. "We have a picture."

There were 3 pictures of the figurine in the different places that it had been kept. "Hey! This is in Hogwarts! Yeah…I'll bet that Dumbledore kept it in Hogwarts after he saw that it had some dark magic. But maybe he didn't know that it was a horocrux yet. He just thought it was some dark artifact. Ok…Well, this one's in the Ministry I'll bet." He said, pointing to the second picture. "And this third one….uh… I don't know."

"Maybe we can ask Remus."

At that very moment, Remus exited to another room.

Ron snorted. "Yah, like that would go over well. 'Hi! I'm Harry, James' son from the future. And these are my friends. Do you know where they keep the horocruxes in this place?'"

"That's not what I meant. Maybe we should follow him first, and then ask him later on."

"But shouldn't we be worrying about getting back?"

"Oh!" Hermione stuffed her hand into her robes and brought something out. "I nearly forgot about this. I have an extra one!"

"Brilliant! Then we can go and find it…"

"But…" Ron turned around and looked at Ginny. "She's not coming."

"What do mean I'm not coming, I'm already here you dumb ass!"

"No I mean you're taking this timeturner…" he snatched it from Hermione's grasp. "And going home."

"NO WAY!"

"YES WAY"

"Ron you sound gay when you say that…."

"NO WAY!"

"YES WAY!"

"No really Ron, you do…"

"NO WAY!"

"YES WA-"

"ENOUGH!" They all fell quiet. "Ginny." She snapped, looking at her. "You're not going." Ron grinned triumphantly.

"Hermione!"

"No buts, and quiet down a little. Just because he's out of the room, doesn't mean he won't hear us."

"But Hermione! I thought you of all people would understand! I don't want to sit idly at home while you guys are on a mission! Plus, if I take the timeturner you guys can't come back anymore!"

"We can always borrow one from this time. But who said you were going to sit at home doing nothing?"

"Huh?" she asked, dumbly.

"You're going back, not because I'm an overprotective prat like Ron," she glanced at Ron who looked furious. "But because you have to. What would your mother think if you just disappeared? But if it's only the three of us, you can tell them that we had to leave because we got a lead on another horocux or something…. which is actually the truth. Plus, you can update us on what's happening. You can tell us if Voldemort has attacked again so that we can go back if they really need us. Just use the timeturner to get us."

"But how will I know where you are?"

"Here." Harry handed her a mirror. "Sirius gave it to me. It broke but I fixed it. Just say my name and we can communicate."

"Does it work in this time?"

"Yah it does…now quit stalling! You have to go. They could be looking for us this very second."

"Yeah…. Tonks and Moody said they'd drop by…"

"Okay…" she grumbled and took the timeturner from Hermione. They hugged her as she pulled the chain over her neck.

"I never thought I would say this, but try and listen in on as many Order meetings as you can." Hermione grinned.

"I'll try my best." Ginny said, wearing her trademark smirk.

"Does that mean that she has to turn it a hundred thousand times?" Ron asked, looking confused.

"No…in long intervals like this she just has to turn the number of years. Just change it with this lever." She pointed to a tiny button on the side of the timeturner.

"Wow… it's really noticeable…" Ron said, sarcastically.

"That's one thing I won't miss Ron, your sarcasm… oh and your tiny little brain" she said, bringing two fingers close together to emphasize 'little'"

"Why you –"

But she was already gone.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Harry!"

"What?"

"He's leaving!"

Remus walked out of the room and locked it. He proceeded to lock all the other ones.

"He's leaving… we have to go!"

They ran out the Department of Mysteries quickly, footsteps echoing loudly behind them.

"Hermione! Spell! Say a spell! Make us invisible!" Ron panted, out of breath.

Her eyes widened at her stupidity, and she muttered an incantation. They suddenly went invisible, just as Remus Lupin came into sight.

_Well that was close, _Harry thought as they followed Remus out the back exit.

"Hermione, we have to stay far from him…"

"Why?"

"He'll smell us. His sense of smell is very good because of his condition."

"Okay…"

They walked farther away from him, but they could still see him. Suddenly, he apparated from the dark alley.

"Shit… that was unexpected. We have to follow his apparition traces….Ready?"

They apparated away with a pop.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Where are we?" Hermione whispered when they appeared outside a homey looking house. It was big, but not too big. They were in a muggle village. It was bustling with early morning activity. People were talking on cell phones, on their way to work. People were buying vegetables in the market. It was quite full, and a big change from the eerie silence in the Department of Mysteries. Apparently, Remus had the same thoughts as he grinned and looked around, fascinated with the muggle contraptions.

He rang the doorbell. There was a shout of: "THE DOORS OPEN! COME ON IN!" Obeying the voice, he stepped into the house. Hermione rushed forward and stood about 2 inches away from Lupin's back.

"Hermione! What are you doing he'll smell you!" Ron whispered as he tried pulling her away.

"Or hear YOU!"

As if on cue, Remus turned around and surveyed the area carefully. After seeing nothing, he turned back and opened the door, sniffling a little.

"He has a cold! Come on!"

They ran forward and slipped in just as the doors were closing.

"This is too much adventure for me…."Ron panted, speaking again when Remus went to another part of the house.

"Ron, Hermione…"

"What Harry?" Hermione asked, catching her breath.

"This is the place…"

"What place?"

He held up the picture with the unknown location, and true enough it had the same….everything. The same homey style. The same wooden appearance. The same kind of rugs. There was really no denying that this was the same place.

"Well that was quick…" Ron commented lightly. "I guess we _are_ making progress…"

Just then, Remus came into the front hall, but this time he was accompanied by a man.

_He looks familiar,_ Harry thought as he saw the messy jet black hair on his head. That hair. Then the man turned around and they could see his face. THAT FACE.

That's my face….

Then as karma will have it, he tripped over on the rug and a loud THUMP echoed throughout the rather large house.

"What the bloody hell was that?" James Potter asked his friend.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hahahaha evil cliff- hanger……

PLS REVIEW!   

Thank you SOOOOO much to maile, xXxSomeonexXx, and freakinBIZZLES. Your reviews really encouraged me to continue this story! You guys rule! (Well, not freakinBIZZLES but, OUCH! Hey! Don't hit me! Hahaha )

Next Chapter:

More on the Past People and the trio's reaction to seeing BABY HARRY!

Visit to Hogwarts! (Maybe)

Ginny's in trouble….

Voldemort is still plotting…..


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything…. I don't think I even own the plot since it's so overused. IM SO SAD! PLS JK ROWLING! SELL ME THE HARRY POTTER SERIES AND I WILL CONTINUE TO WRITE AFTER THE SEVENTH BOOK EXCEPT THEY WILL SOUND MORE LIKE FANFICTION THAN REAL BOOKS…..What? Wrong number? Oh…. Sorry Orlando. NO DON'T HANG!...up….sigh

Past Mistakes

Chapter 3:

OOOOOOOOOOO

"Oww…. Shit!" Ginny landed on her face with a loud thump. She twisted around on her back and breathed in the fresh air that she had been deprived of for a few seconds.

_Note to self…never try to apparate into Grimmauld Place…this house is ALIVE…and it's getting back at me for calling it a worthless pile of shit last week…._

She grabbed the railing leading to the entrance and used it to hoist herself up. Shaking her head slightly and smoothing out her robes, she rang the doorbell.

She winced as she heard the loud shrieks of Sirius' mother – though he would have never admitted that they even KNEW each other, let alone were RELATED. There was a shuffling of feet as the one of the occupants of the house rushed to close Mrs. Black's curtains. Once the house was silent again, the door creaked open and Mrs. Weasley's head popped out. Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Ginny! But I thought…. Where were you? You were supposed to be in your room!" she ushered Ginny in, and turned to face her, taking her intimidating mother-hen stance. "I knew it!" she pointed her finger at Ginny accusingly. "I knew there was something fishy going on… my maternal instincts are still as sharp as ever! Now… where were you!"

"I wanted to go out for a walk. I need fresh air mum! I haven't been out for ages!" she explained, putting on her best woe-is-me-im-a-free-spirited-teenager-stuck-inside-a-gloomy-crappy-rotting-good-for-nothing-house face.

"I was going to tell Remus, but I thought he might be tired from his transformation and I didn't want to disturb him!"

Molly's stern face softened a little, and her eyes took a warmer color as she gave a slight smile that assured Ginny that she would get away with everything.

_Mothers just LOVE polite, caring daughters. It also helps that I'm her youngest and the only girl…_

"So I went out, and I was planning on being just a minute. But I got SO carried away with all the fresh air and freedom, since you know… I've had so little of that lately." She sighed dramatically.

Molly forehead furrowed and Ginny knew instantly that that sigh had ruined everything.

"You know… I've RAISED Fred and George…I'm not an idiot. Plus the sigh was a little too much" she said, smiling slightly at Ginny but still looking a little stern.

"I think you should go up to your room now… I'll call you for dinner. Read a book or something…" Ginny opened her mouth in protest, but Molly cut her off. "I know!" her eyes brightened. "Ancient Spells and Charms: Volume 3. That should be interesting…"

"But mum-"

"Read it Ginevra…you should at least do something productive rather than mope around all day and complain how bored you are."

"Fine" she mumbled in agreement, turning around and climbing the stairs.

"Oh by the way," she turned around. "Harry, Ron and Hermione won't be coming tonight. They got a lead on another horocrux today and they had to go."

"Another one? Wow… they sure are making progress…I'm sorry to admit that at first I rather underestimated them… but they're doing quite a good job." she said, looking slightly proud, but worried too at the danger they were putting themselves in.

"Will you tell that to Moody and Tonks when they get here? Since, you know, I'm going to be too busy filling my head with knowledge…" she explained with fake excitement.

"Alright I will" she answered, narrowing her eyes slightly at Ginny's disappearing figure.

"Where did she get such a character?" She smiled wryly, remembering herself when she was younger. There wasn't much of a difference with how Ginny acted and how she herself used to act. But that was her little secret.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"What the bloody hell was that?" James Potter asked his friend.

"I don't know Prongs…Wait. What's THAT…" he pointed towards the coat rack where there was a piece of red fur floating.

_Ron's hair! Why does his hair have to be so noticeable?_

In a split second, the charm wore off and two of the four marauders received a big shock when they saw 3 teenagers in James' front hall. One had red hair which explained the floating "fur." The other one was a girl with slightly bushy hair and had an aura of bossiness mixed with bravery and smarts around her. But she looked like someone who would never betray her friends and was willing to risk everything for them. The last one was the most shocking. He was sitting on the floor, halfway through to standing up. But the most curious thing about him was that he looked EXACTLY like one of the other people in the front hall.

_He has the same trademark jet-black messy hair as James_, Remus thought to himself, as a deadly silence enveloped the house. _Same physical structure…only slightly shorter…thought he'll probably be the same height as James when he's an adult. Scar on his forehead…shaped like a lightning bolt? Strange. And those eyes. So…familiar._

This observation of one another only lasted a few seconds and before either of them could react, the three teens had ran out the front door and apparated away.

"Remus…" James croaked out, his throat still dry from the shock of seeing himself somewhere else other than a mirror.

"Yeah Padfoot?"

"Do I have a long lost twin or something?"

He chuckled. "You never know."

"I Know who that was" James said suddenly, his voice suddenly firmer, and his eyes directing cold rays at the door they had exited from.

"Who were they then? Distant relative? Cousin?" he asked, eager to know.

"Deatheaters. Disguised as innocent looking teenagers."

"Do you really think-"

"I KNOW it."

At that moment a loud echo sounded. "JAMES? Where are you?" The voice got closer until…

"James? Honey what's wrong?" Lily Potter asked, walking up to her rigid looking husband. He growled at an invisible opponent.

"Remus what happened?" she asked, turning her attention on the light haired man whom she noticed looked thoroughly shocked as well.

"Well umm…there were three children-"

"Death Eaters" James finally spoke. "And they're after Harry."

Lily gasped.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Probably thought that they could trick you into giving them Harry just because he polyjuiced himself to look like me…." He snarled. Lily came out from the kitchen into the living room where they were all sitting down. She handed the two men drinks, then sat beside James with a drink of her own.

"But why would they do it NOW? While you were at home?"

"Because they're idiots… all of them…" he answered simply.

She sighed and put her face in her hands wearily. "I knew this would happen. I knew they would come after us. I just didn't think it would be this soon….They'd need a plan first right? And it's only been three days since Dumbledore heard the prophesy."

Remus nodded in understanding and took a sip of his butterbeer. James and Lily had told both himself and Sirius the prophesy yesterday night. Peter hadn't been there as he had to visit his sick grandmother. They decided not to tell him instead, as he was a little careless and might slip it accidentally to a death eater. Sirius had agreed to be the Secret Keeper, and he had agreed to be the back up secret keeper in case- Remus gulped- anything happened to Sirius.

_Nothing will happen. At least I hope not._ He smiled as he remembered Sirius' exact words that night when James had voiced that concern.

"_It would take no less than 700 steamrollers to kill the great Sirius Black!" _

"Alright," James voice took a commanding tone, much like the tone he and Sirius had taken in Hogwarts when they were planning something important, like pranking Snape.

"Lets call Sirius…and Peter… he should be back by now. He must love that Grandmother of his so much because he keeps on visiting her… And we should call Dumbledore too. We can search the area and if were lucky we'll find the little bastards. We should also discuss the wardings in this house….very weak. We have to put up strong wards while Dumbledore's still working on putting the Fidelius Charm. Maybe a good and evil thing…alerts us when friends come in, but when someone coming to harm us gets in they'll get zapped or something….yeah that would be good…" he rubbed his chin thoughtfully and exited the room, still mumbling about wards under his breath.

Lily rolled her eyes and stood up. "I should help him out. He might accidentally kill someone." Remus didn't know if she was serious or joking. He couldn't tell.

She exited the living room in search of James, and he heard her say in a loud voice: "Oh! Good Afternoon Professor, Peter, Sirius. Has James told you yet? Come in first, then we can tell you the plan… How is she Peter?" Lily asked the short man, looking genuinely concerned. He look alarmed.

"Oh….er…..yes she's fine. Getting much better. My Aunt will be back on her feet soon enough…."

_Aunt? But I thought…._

"REMUS! Come on! Were all waiting for you!"

"YEAH REMI! C'MON! LILY WON'T SERVE THE FOOD UNTIL WERE COMPLETE!" Sirius whined. Dumbledore chuckled at how little he had changed since he had graduated from Hogwarts.

Completely forgetting his train of thought, he rushed away to the Living Room to listen to James rant again.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"That was strange…." Ron said, starting the conversation that was bound to come. He sipped his gillyweed slowly, looking at Harry who was still in deep thought.

Once they had been seen and observed for a little while, only one plan of escape had formed on all three of their brains: RUN. So they did. Out the door and into a deserted alley. After checking that no one had followed them, they apparated to the only place where they knew they could catch their breath and analyze their situation. Hogsmeade.

_Nice to know that The Three Broomsticks will always be full, in any time._ Hermione thought as a group of wizards in their early twenties entered and one accidentally knocked his elbow into her head. She rubbed the backside of her head and smiled when she saw a much younger Rosmerta working as the bartender. There was an intimidating woman barking orders at her to clean the tables and she hurried off, looking a little frazzled. _At least one day she'll be the one who owns the pub_. She narrowed her eyes at the current owner, immediately hating her.

"I think that was my dad…." Harry finally spoke.

"NO KIDDING…. I know everyone says that you look a lot like your dad Harry, but that was just SCARY." Ron said cheerfully as the tension in the air subsided.

"Yes Harry, it was pretty shocking…." Hermione said, tearing her eyes away from someone who looked incredibly like Parvati Patil.

Ron snorted. "Pretty? I think I'd be more than PRETTY SHOCKED."

"Guys." Harry said suddenly, indicating he had an idea.

"What is it Harry?" Hermione asked, ignoring Ron who was choking on a biscuit.

"Hogwarts. We should go to Hogwarts! To look for that horocrux. Just look for it because I doubt we'll find it. It could take days. He could have hidden it just like the Sorcerers Stone."

"But people will see us! They'll ask questions. What about Dumbledore?" Hermione asked worriedly, ready for anything that could possibly go wrong and already forming a plan of escape.

"If my dad and I are really as alike as all of you say, then I KNOW that he'd call Dumbledore if someone who could possibly be a deatheater was impersonating him. I just know it."

"That does make sense…." Hermione trailed off, thinking of the pros and cons of going to Hogwarts.

"C'mon Hemione! I miss Hogwarts! Plus I don't think we could look in the Ministry or especially in Harry's house right now…Remember what you said… we have a limited time in the past. We can't stay too long or it might have a bad effect on the future. We have to start looking now…" Ron reasoned, pushing all of her buttons in order to convince her.

It worked.

"Alright then…But first we have to find a place to stay. Then we go to Hogwarts."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Wormtail." A cold, cruel voice called from inside a dark room. Actually, it looked a quite a lot like Snape's dungeons. A short man in a black cloak scurried in, shaking with fear.

"Y-yes Master?" he stuttered. "Gather my things. I will be leaving shortly. Do not tell anyone save for my inner circle about my journey. There are many spies in our midst. I will contact you when you and the rest are to meet me there. But for now I will go alone. I have to consult….well… myself." He sneered at his own joke.

"But first we must have an attack."

"An…an attack my lord? Whatever for?"

Voldemort's nostrils flared with anger. "It is not smart to question my decisions Wormtail. CRUCIO!"

His screams echoed around the room and later became whimpering as he was released from the spell.

"That should teach you a lesson. Never disobey or question your master. And never doubt my power." He glared at the figure on the ground.

"Get up! Get up you pathetic excuse for a human…. If you would like to know what is happening tonight, go ask the deatheater who made it possible. She is possibly the best spy I have ever had. Of course Severus has risen a few points in my book for killing the muggle-loving fool." He gave an evil smirk when he remembered Dumbledore's fate.

"She is a spy in the Order of the Phoenix….that pathetic group that thinks they can defy me… When Dumbledore had just died, she informed me of the location of their headquarters before they could get another Secret Keeper." He laughed cruelly. "They didn't even have a backup one because they had so much faith in Dumbledore's abilities. Fools… I've known the location for quite some time now, but I've been saving it for an attack. About 50 members of the Order are having a meeting there today. It won't be a massacre, though I wish I could do that to get rid of them. I'm just going to send them a message. Give them slaps in the face…show them that Lord Voldemort means business. Plus I need them distracted and not suspicious of my lack of activity." He smiled as what he was was the complete opposite of inactive. "I sent another deatheater to fetch her, wouldn't want a loyal follower like her to die now would I?

"Who is she my Lord?" he asked timidly, afraid of getting punished, yet curious all the same.

"Emmeline Vance."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Emmy! Emmeline!"

A blonde haired witch turned around to see a woman with bubblegum pink hair running towards her, tripping every two steps. She stopped when she caught up with the woman and put a hand up to her heart.

"Wow…you walk fast. Either that or I'm just a slow runner." Tonks said.

"Anyways…the meetings starting. We have to be early. This meeting must be important seeing as how they invited almost 50 of us. Lately it's always been in small groups, but not this time."

Emmeline smiled. "I'll be there in a second. I just have to… get something in the kitchen. You go ahead."

"Alright then" Tonks gave her a small wave and ran off again, but not before tripping over the umbrella stand.

Emmeline smirked to herself. _Umbrella Stand: 3 Tonks: 0_

She turned her back on the kitchen and tiptoed up the stairs, smirking knowingly.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Ginny?" Molly Weasley called from downstairs. "Ginny were having an Order Meeting. It's very important so PLEASE stay up in your room ok? We don't need any trouble from you."

"Alright mum….i'll stay out of your way!" she screamed back, cringing when Mrs. Black started wailing again.

_I had BETTER stay out of her way… after all, I don't want to be caught eavesdropping_

She grinned naughtily as she opened the drawer beside her bed and pulled out what was, in her opinion anyways, the best thing that Fred and George had ever invented. The Extendable Ears. She slipped them into her pocket and crept down the hallway, the length of time she spent in the house showing as she avoided each creaking step in pitch-black darkness.

_I can't stop grinning. But I can't help it. It's not everyday that you deliberately disobey your mother and eavesdrop on an important Order of the Phoenix meeting. Gives me the rush I so desperately need….._

She stopped short when she heard a creak from one of the floorboards in the hallway.

_Shit.Shit.Shit.Shit. I should have known she was going to check on me again! She knows me well… too well. I should have stayed in my room a little longer. Me and my stupid thrills…._

She saw an outline of someone through the darkness. There were two people. She couldn't see well but she knew that one of them was wearing a robe with the hood on. She couldn't see their faces. Then a voice that definitely wasn't her mothers broke the silence and spoke to the cloaked figure.

"Bella, it's almost time! We should get out of here!"

_Bella? Bellatrix? And….wait. Was that….Emmeline? What was Emmeline doing talking to a deatheater? Better Yet, what was a deatheater doing in the Order of the Phoenix Head Quarters? _

"It's all ready. He's just about to leave."

"What about the rest of us?"

"He says that he'll call us all when we're needed."

"Are you sure that no one knows of his trip?"

She sighed. "NO EMMY, NO ONE KNOWS."

"Alright, alright. Don't get all PMS on me."

Bellatrix glared at her. "We have to go. He might need us. Plus I want to see him off."

"Wow, you sound like you and Rodolphus are separated and you re-married the Dark Lord." She chuckled. Or rather, gave an evil version of a chuckle.

"Don't be insane Em. I'm just excited. This could change everything! Once he goes back in time and kills the parents, his past self will be free to kill Potter. No mother to die for him now...Then the dark lord takes over… we would be treated like queens!" She gave an excited smile. "Just kill him at about the same time, except when the parents are gone. He wants it when the boy is the same age as last time, something to do with symbolism. Or maybe irony."

Ginny held her breath. Harry, Ron and Hermione were at the exact time where Voldemort was planning to go. If the situation wasn't so serious, she would be laughing her brains out right now. _Sort of stalker-ish, don't you think Voldie?_

They could stop whatever was happening...If only she could warn them. And that is when Ginny Weasley realised that, in terms of brain power, she WASN'T that far ahead of Ron. They were actually in the same pace, though this was the ONLY time she would ever admit that she could be as stupid as Ron. The timeturner. She silently thanked Hermione for thinking ahead. _How does she always manage to think of the perfect plans?_ But that was Hermione. You could never question her perfection.

She listened carefully to the women's conversation, hoping to find out what to warn Harry about before actually going on to warn them.

Emmeline was starting to look excited too. Her eyes gleamed in anticipation.

"Yes…" she whispered. "I see it all now." She held her two hands up to make a sort of picture fame.

"We wouldn't have to work... We'd be given new designer clothes everyday!"

Bellatrix nodded, urging her to continue. She quite liked this mental picture that Emmeline was sketching for them.

"And err... men would feed us strawberries as we lay on the beach...topless."

Bella gave a mock gasp. "Emmy how naughty! I bet you'd like it if that werewolf were the one feeding you." She said teasingly.

Emmeline blushed. "That was a long time ago! In my third year! When I was naive and stupid and-- oh stop already!"

Bella was clutching her stomach with one hand and covering her mouth with the other to prevent the gleeful laughter from escaping from her mouth.

_For one second, they actually look like two normal women, discussing their past crushes._ Ginny thought. But that rare moment was quickly snatched away.

"Emmy you're killing me!" Bella panted, her face red from laughter. I'm going to explode..I--Wait! Em! The bomb! We've got to go!"

Judging from the look on Emmeline's face, she was panicking.

Ginny watched as the two witches ran downstairs quickly, not caring anymore who heard them.

Then she registered what had just been said.

Bomb. Holy Fuck.

Then, as though that exact thought was the thing that would set the bomb off, the house exploded, and then there was silence.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

There was a hurried knock at the door. When the signal to enter was given, they stumbled in looking shocked and frazzled.

"What happened? Has something gone wrong with my plan?" Voldemort demanded, not concerned in the slightest about the wellbeing of 2 of his inner circle deatheaters.

Emmeline reassured him. "Everything has gone according to plan ,my lord." She bent down to kneel before him. "We just got a little..." She glanced at Bella who nodded encouragingly. "…Distracted…. but it didn't change anything. The plan is still moving smoothly."

"Very Good. I would hate it if two of my best deatheaters were somehow...i don't know...killed for making such a huge mistake."

They gulped nervously as Voldemort looked them in the eyes for a few seconds, enjoying the way they feared him.

"Well, I shall be going now. Remember..." he faced the 2 women once more. "Our plan. And this time, DON'T get distracted."

Then with a few flips of the timeturner, he was gone.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Ginny!" Arthur Weasley practically sobbed. He was flipping over pieces of burned furniture. He passed Mrs. Blacks painting which was FINALLY off the wall, but still screaming.

Soon, he saw a fleck of red hair underneath a pile of ashes. He ran and picked the petite figure up from the ground.

"Molly!" his voice cracked in the middle, causing it to sound more like a 'MOLHAEEEE'.

"Arthur!" she looked up at him from the first floor. Amazingly, the second floor was still standing, but only a small portion of it.

She ran up the stairs, gasping when one step broke and her leg fell partially into the hole. Arthur moved to help her, but Molly was already out, rushing to her daughters side.

"Oh Ginny! Ginny!" she buried her face into the unconcious girl's beautiful red hair. "Arthur is she alright?" she asked, looking up, kissing and smelling her daughtter's hair.

Arthur sighed, and answered truthfully. "I dont know. But she's alive, we should get her to St. Mungo's now to ahev her checked."

Molly agreed immedietely, and the couple levitated their only daughter out of the house, tears running down their faces at the prospect of losing their baby girl had almost became a reality.

What they didn't know was that one of Voldemort's most cunning spies was currently celebrating with the rest of his followers. Celebrating their 'message' to the Order.

And what no one else nknew was that the only hope the wizarding world had of stopping Voldemort was lying in a hospital bed, unconcious, with a timeturner tucked safely inside her pocket.

Blissfully unaware of the horrors in store.

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A/N: Tell me what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Past Mistakes

A/N: Hey! I finally updated! Enjoy….

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Lily looked at Remus worriedly, and cocked her head to the side, signaling that she wanted to talk.

"Umm...Honey?" Lily interrupted James as he planned a brutal attack on the 'death eaters' that were after his family.

He looked at her, slightly dazed from his non stop planning. "Uh...yeah?"

"I'm just going into the kitchen to make some more refreshments alright?" She squeezed his shoulder to comfort him, before turning around and heading to the kitchen. She widened her eyes at Remus, and he quickly stood up.

"Oh! Uh...I better help Lily."

"Hey Rem! Could you bring in some more of that chocolate stuff?" Sirius asked, smiling innocently.

Remus rolled his eyes and nodded, while Lily tried her best to smile sweetly at him.

"Of course Sirius! I'll bring in the 6TH box. Where does he put it all?" She muttered the last part to herself.

When they were safely in the kitchen, Lily turned around to face him.

"Are you worried about him? Because I sure as hell am!"

He rubbed his eyes tiredly. He wasn't in his best shape, seeing as full moon was only a few days away. But the truth was, James WAS starting to worry him.

"Well I--"

"Aren't you concerned for him? I mean, I AM worried about Harry and these so called 'death eaters'...but he's getting overly obsessed with this! Don't you remember the ducks?"

He smiled serenely at the memory of that incident. There had been a family of ducks that had followed the Potters home. Harry had taken an instant liking to them, but James had been overly paranoid and had insisted that they were bugged, or that they were illegal animagi.

_Let's just say that the ducks weren't that fond of him after James was done with them,_ Remus mused.

"I'll do my best Lily, but when James starts something, he sticks with it."

And it was true. When they had thought of becoming illegal animagi in their 6th year, James had kept them going even during the hardest times. Sirius had gotten tired of it, even though he wouldn't say it, and was ready to give up. The whole 'but it's cool!' argument had started growing old. Peter was willing to do anything the others wanted. Remus didn't want to force his friends to do anything, even though he was secretly hoping that they didn't give up. It was James that had kept them going, and Remus would be forever grateful.

Lily sighed and rubbed her head in acceptance.

"Well, I guess you're right. But you SHOULD try and calm him down. This is my last night and I want him to be taken care of...We better go. He might think the ducks are back." she said, smiling slightly.

They turned around and entered the Living Room once more.

"Do you have the Chocolate stuff?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"So? What ELSE do you propose we do Ronald? Have a bake sale? Read to the orphans? Well that's all VERY lovely and admirable, but we're on a tight schedule here!"

"Geez Hermione! I just need to visit the men's room! You have a problem with that, or would you just like me to go right here!

She glared at him in a you-had-better-not-if-you-want-to-live-to-see-next-week way.

"That's right! Right on your bloody shoes!"

"Hermione!" Harry turned her around and grabbed her shoulders, shaking them lightly. "I KNOW you're worried about this, we ALL are. But would you let the man have a piss? He's been dying here!"

"While I am comforted by your proper words and gentlemanly gestures," she started, sarcastically. "Yes, I AM quite worried though I'm quite sure you understand why, because we are breaking into the office of the most powerful wizard in the world!" She said, her voice getting an octave higher with every word.

"Calm down Hermione!"

"Don't you tell me to calm down! This isn't like all those other times! We don't know him in this time and if we were caught, our plan could go down the drain! We're not school children anymore! This is bloody serious!" She finished her rant, breathing heavily. The other two remained silent.

"So...are you done?" Ron asked, carefully.

"Quite." she answered in a dignified air.

"That's great, now could I PLEASE go to the men's room" He asked again, nearly jumping around this time.

She sighed. "Fine, but you should have gone while I was...explaining."

"Explaining loudly"

"It would have saved us a lot of time...so go! Run off now to your little boy's room…"

"Men's room!"

"Whatever..."

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"Chocolate Frog! Sherbet Lemon! Lemon Drops!"

"I'm running out of candy here!" Harry bit his lip, not quite sure if he could take it if their mission ended right there, just because of a stupid password.

"It hasn't been THAT long since we've had candy, has it?" Ron asked, worriedly. "Fred and George would disown me if they knew about this..."

Harry snorted. Suddenly, the door to the teacher's faculty room opened, and Professor McGonagall stepped out, looking more or less the same except slightly younger.

They flattened themselves against one side of the stone gargoyle guarding the headmaster's office, and held their breath as Minerva McGonagall passed them.

"That was close...too close." Harry said, releasing his breath as she passed by without noticing them.

"She didn't have that vein..." Ron said, looking thoughtful. Hermione swatted him in the back of his head.

"What? It's true! That vein is her trademark. Its right above her left eye...It brings me comfort during the darkest of times. When she's there, her face all purple with anger and ready to give me the worst kind of detention, which usually has something to do with toilets, I just stare at that vein, and my fear goes away...I relied on that vein! And now it's...gone." He said, looking genuinely sad for the loss of the vein.

"Wow Ron, I never knew you had such a big history with Lulu." Harry said.

"Lulu?" Hermione looked confused.

"The vein…" Harry stated simply.

She rolled her eyes, "So THIS is what you boys do instead of studying...figures." she muttered.

"BUT...That damn vein isn't helping us with these passwords!" She rubbed her forehead, irritably.

"Oh!" Her mood changed in a millisecond as her irritated face changed to the one she wore whenever she had a brilliant idea.

"She has another genius idea." Ron said, his voice monotone.

"Tarantula Legs?" Hermione asked, unsure.

The stone opened, and the trio stepped into the staircase.

Ron turned to her, amazed. "How in the bloody hell did you get that? I didn't even know that candy existed!"

She smiled, trying hard not to look too pleased with herself. "Well, I saw it on a sign in Hogsmeade. It's brand new NOW, but in a few years it'll be gone."

They stopped talking when the door came into view.

"This is it..." Harry murmured to himself.

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"Dumbledore sure has a lot of knickknacks in here. But not the one were looking for!"

"Sure... fragments of a dark Lord's soul…now THAT'S a knickknack." Ron commented.

"Let's focus here guys...maybe were not looking hard enough..."

"Or maybe its not here." Hermione challenged.

"Or maybe were not looking hard enough."

"Or maybe...its NOT HERE." She sighed tiredly and sat down in the headmaster's chair.

"Face it Harry. This is becoming a LOT harder than we thought it would be. Maybe he hid it somewhere ELSE in Hogwarts! Meaning that it could be anywhere here...and did I fail to mention that this is quite a LARGE castle? Well then, if it's not in this INSANELY large castle with many hidden rooms, it could also be in Godric's Hollow, where people are currently plotting to kill us. OR in the Ministry of Magic, well I'm pretty sure that that's quite large too...God. I need a Firewhisky."

"Well I have a few that I'm willing to give...in exchange for the reason you are up in my office..." A voice said from the entrance. There standing in front of the door they had entered, in all his glory, was Albus Dumbledore.

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"Headmaster! Hahaha..." Hermione laughed nervously, and in awe.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

He smiled at her, his eyes sparkling.

"Just around the part you were saying that the Ministry is quite large... though I too find it a tad too big for my liking. I like them small and cozy, don't you think? Well, Hogwarts is large too, but still quite cozy."

The headmaster never ceased to amaze them.

"So..." he continued, as if the whole interior designing conversation had never taken place.

"Please, have a seat." He gestured to the 3 squashy armchairs which had not been there seconds ago.

"Lemon Drop?" He offered.

Ron snorted, and Hermione swatted him in the back of his head. She cleared her throat, then spoke. "Um, no thank you sir."

He looked at them as if they were quite crazy to refuse a lemon drop, while they just stared back at him, looking as though HE was crazy for offering them lemon drop's in the first place. An awkward silence followed, though the three were pretty sure that Dumbledore didn't consider it awkward. He simply stared at them, looking into their souls with his calculating blue eyes.

"So..." Hermione started, feeling uncomfortable.

"I take it you three are the death eaters James saw yesterday?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

"Er, well actually…" Harry stuttered, trying to explain.

"I'm guessing you aren't death eaters?" He finished for him.

"Not exactly…" Ron said. Harry couldn't tell if the headmaster had caught the sarcasm in the red heads voice.

"Then," Dumbledore adjusted his glasses, his voice turning serious.

"Who are you?"

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"This baby's perfect!" James said, his eyes gleaming.

Lily walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, her chin resting on his broad shoulders.

"Hun, I think you should take a break. Everything's fine now." She said, her brilliant green eyes working its magic on him.

"But I just need to test this security system...I want to make sure... Oh Jeez…I can never say no to you, can I?" He sighed, grinning at her tiredly.

She batted her eyelashes for extra effect. "No, you never can." She turned around and pulled his arm, dragging him into the living room.

"Now you..." She pushed him into the couch, then turned around to head to the kitchen. "Rela--ah!" She screamed as he used his leg to trip her, making her fall right into his arms.

"Wow Evans, you have a naughty mind." He smirked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"I wasn't thinking of anything dirty Potter, Why? Were you?" She grinned seductively. They leaned in and kissed, getting more and more passionate until they heard a loud wail coming from the upstairs.

Lily immediately surfaced, panting slightly. She stood up and wiped her smudged lipstick with the back of her hand.

"That's Harry...I should get him." She quickly ran out of the room, throwing an apologetic look at James. James sat up and tried again to flatten his hair. He sighed.

_'Well, that was bad timing, but it was a good thing we stopped otherwise we might have gotten carried away. And THAT would have been bad, since Dumbledore's been stopping by a lot'_ James thought, shuddering at the thought of his former headmaster catching the two of them doing something that a headmaster wasn't supposed to see his former students doing. Friend or not.

Lily came down, rocking a wailing Harry in her arms.

"Shhhh..." she whispered, until his crying stopped, and he just sniffed a little.

"What happened?" James asked, walking across the room, and taking the now relaxed baby in his arms. Lily sighed, "He's probably hungry."

She took baby Harry and set him down on his high chair.

"Well it's nearly dinner anyway, call Sirius down would you?" She asked, as she pulled on an apron that said: **Kiss the Cook.**

"Kiss the cook eh?" James smiled, wrapping his arms around her again, and sniffing her neck.

"James!" Lily swatted his arm with a spoon. "I'm cooking! Later alright?" She chastised, blushing slightly.

He held his hands up in defeat. "All right! All right, I surrender. I'll go wake padfoot up." He passed by her, squeezing her bum and running off before she could even yelp in surprise.

_'James… ever the flirt.'_ She thought, remembering one particular day in Hogwarts.

_FLASHBACK: _

_"Hey Evans! Wait up!" _

_Lily rolled her eyes, recognizing the voice. She walked even faster, until a tall boy caught up to her, looking out of breath. _

_"Wow Evans. If I wasn't so sure that you were a kind, considerate, level headed person, I would have thought that you were running away from me." _

_"What do you want Potter." She sighed, irritated. _

_"D'you wanna go--" _

_"NO, I don't want to go out with you." _

_"Are you sure?" James said, giving her a smile that would make other girls melt. _

_She stared at him appraisingly. "Yes Potter. I'm quite sure that I don't want to spend an entire day wasting my time with an arrogant bullying piece of dung." She smirked as a hint of hurt flashed in his eyes. _

_"Fine. Whatever." He turned around and marched up the stairs, leaving Lily more than a little confused. _

_"Wait! Potter! Pott-- fine, James!" She ran up the stairs, struggling to catch him. He stopped and turned around. _

_"Yes Evans? Or are we on a first name basis now?" He said, not looking smug at all, which surprised Lily even more. _

_"So that's it?" She asked, not answering his question. _

_"What's it?" He cocked his eyebrow._

_She sighed. "Usually you ask me out at LEAST 5 times before lunch! This was just the first time! Now you're giving up? You're usually very persistent." _

_He smiled at her, smirking again. "Why dear Lilykins? Do you WANT to go out with me?" _

_She looked mortified as she denied quickly. "NO! Merlin no…I was just--" _

_"I'll take that as a yes." James said quickly, pulling her by the arm. "SO, we better board the train! It leaves for Hogsmeade in a few minutes!"_

_"But no! I'm not going! Potter! Stop it! Put me down! AHHH!" She screamed and tried her best to fight back as he threw her over his shoulder. _

_"Hey Prongs! Where you off to?_

_"Lily and I are going off to Hogsmeade... for a date."_

_"She actually said yes?" Sirius asked, looking disbelieving as he watched Lily struggle to get out of James grasp. _

_"Yes." _

_"No!" _

_They answered simultaneously. _

_Sirius patted Lily on the back. "Well, have fun!" _

_She looked at him, stunned. "You're actually going to let him bring me to Hogsmeade against my free will? That's almost like...kidnapping!" She ranted._

_"Well, Yes." Sirius answered simply, shrugging. "Bye then!" He waved and disappeared in the wave of people. _

_"Wait! Black! Idiot! Get back here!" _

_"Aww, c'mon Lily! Were going to have fun! I know it."_

_"And you're word is really reliable" she grumbled sarcastically._

_END OF FLASHBACK _

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But she DID have fun. Soon they had started dating, then shortly after they got married. It was all a wild, fun blur. But it was the best decision she had ever made. She felt as if James was her other half, the half that she had been searching for all her life. And without that half, she was nothing. Her soul mate.

She stepped out of her daydream as a grumpy looking Sirius came down the kitchen, his hair damp.

He pulled a chair out and sat on it, watching Harry eat.

"What happened Sirius?"

"James happened."

"Was it really that bad?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"What did he do this time?"

"Dumped icy water down his shirt."

James stepped into the kitchen, looking pleased with himself.

"I swear! You could have just shook me or yelled at my ear!" Sirius growled, crossing his arms.

"Nope. You wouldn't have even budged. Trust me, I know from experience." James answered simply, sitting across Sirius on the table.

Sirius continued to growl incoherently under his breath.

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"So...you are Lily and James' son from the future, and you are his two best friends, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley." Dumbledore stated more than asked, looking calm, oddly enough.

"Err...yeah. That's pretty much it...SIR." Ron added as Hermione nudged him in the ribs, hard.

He leaned forward on his desk and observed them silently for awhile.

"You look a lot like your father Harry. And you have--"

"My mother's eyes...I know." He said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He had his mother's eyes, and he was quite proud of it. But after the first 100 times, the comment got a little repetitive.

"Well yes, I'm sure you hear that quite often." Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and smiled serenely at them, as if waiting for them to say something.

The silence was interrupted by Ron's stomach, which chose that very moment to growl loudly. He blushed a little, and mumbled an apology, seeing the stern look Hermione was giving him, but Dumbledore simply brushed it aside and asked them joyfully,

"How long has it since any of you has attended at traditional Hogwarts feast?"

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"I don't know about this..." Ron said, looking at the door nervously.

"It will be fine..." Hermione said, not sounding too convincing. She herself looked extremely wary, and ready to bolt if anything went wrong.

Harry ruffled his light brown hair, and rubbed the place on his forehead where his scar was supposed to be.

"Do these disguises really work?" Ron asked, trying to see his reflection on a suit of armor.

"Yes they do, Ron." Hermione answered, looking harassed.

"Are you sure? I don't feel any different."

"Oh stop fussing. Why won't you act natural?"

"Easy for you to say, you LIKE your disguise."

Hermione merely glared at him, but didn't respond to his comment. Actually she DID like her disguise. She had short, layered, flyaway hair that reached up to the base of her neck. Her hair was black and silky. She still had her chocolate brown eyes though.

Ron on the other hand had long shoulder length hair. His hair was still red, but it was a darker shade, and it caught a lot less attention than his natural hair color, which was a bright orange.

Harry's disguise was the most drastic. He had light brown hair similar to the shade of Remus Lupin's hair color. He had bright blue eyes, and stood at about 6 feet, when in reality he was only about 5'7.

They heard an awful noise coming from the great hall, and huddled around door, peering into the tiny crack.

"Wow. The Hogwarts song. I haven't heard that in ages." Harry said, in amazement.

"Bloody good though." Ron muttered, his face scrunched up in mock agony.

"Ron!" Hermione glared at him. "This song is a symbol of our school unity! For once it doesn't say anything about the different houses! It speaks of the school as a whole! Of its goals!" Hermione's eyes were glazed over as she ranted on and on, almost like how she looked when she spoke about SPEW.

"Hey? Are you going in or what?" A grouchy looking Ravenclaw bumped past them and entered the dining area, leaving the door wide open, and the trio subject to more than a hundred pairs of eyes.

"Ah." Dumbledore stood from his seat, his eyes twinkling madly.

"Everyone," He addressed the Great Hall. Hundreds of eyes turned to him, expectantly.

"We have some guests. I would like you to welcome Harry Turner, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Ashby."

"Why do YOU get to keep your real name?" Ron muttered to Hermione as they walked to the front of the Great Hall, towards Dumbledore.

"Because I don't come from a long line of wizards..." She muttered back, before smiling jovially at Professor Dumbledore. "Professor! Thank you for letting us stay tonight! We really appreciate it!"

They had decided to stay in Hogwarts instead of the Leaky Cauldron, because it was less risky, cheaper (especially with the limited funds that they had brought to the past.) and, unbeknownst to Dumbledore, it was convenient since they wanted to search for the Horocrux.

"You are most welcome."

"They will be staying with us for a few weeks." Dumbledore addressed the school.

"As well as being assistants to some teachers."

Harry's mouth dropped. As well as Ron's. Hermione was the only one who was able to keep her shock to a minimum.

"Ehm… Professor." Hermione whispered frantically as the Great Hall steadily got noisy again, and students resumed talking.

"What exactly do you mean by...assistants?"

"Ah...You, Hermione, will be a teaching assistant to Professor Drinda, the Muggle Studies teacher. Mr. Ashby will help Mr. Filch with Detentions and Disciplinary problems. Mr. Potter... ah Turner will be an assistant to the Defense teacher.

"Who's the teacher?" Harry asked, hoping it wasn't anyone like Snape.

"Incidentally, it is Professor Potter." Dumbledore answered.

"Come again?" Harry asked, feeling as if the professor had spoken wrongly.

"Professor Lily Potter."

At that very moment, a red haired woman stumbled into the Great Hall, looking out of breath.

She smiled at Dumbledore. "Sorry I'm late, Professor. James was a little panicky today." she said sending a meaningful look at Dumbledore.

She then turned, and her green eyes looked into his.

"Oh, hello. I'm Lily Potter, Defense Professor. Who are you?"

"Why don't we sit down first?" Dumbledore asked, leading the way towards the head table.

They stepped up to the table and sat down on the 3 empty chairs on either side of Dumbledore and Lily, ignoring the curious glances from the other teachers.

"So…who are you?" She asked Harry again, feeling a strange maternal instinct coming over her.

"Ehm...I...I'm…Um..." he stammered, still too shocked to talk.

"He's Harry Po…ah Turner." Hermione said, stepping in. "I'm Hermione Granger, and that's Ron Ashby." She pointed towards Ron, who was farthest away from Lily, and was stuffing his face with pudding.

"We're going to...be assisting some of the teachers." Hermione said, still unsure about the assisting part.

"Oh?" She inquired politely.

"They are aspiring professors who need some training in teaching before they can become actual teachers." Dumbledore lied smoothly, before turning away to start a conversation with Professor McGonagall.

"Oh really?" Lily exclaimed, looking excited. "Well that's a good choice. Teaching is such a thrill." Ron, who had now moved on to 'dessert', snorted at the uncanny resemblance between Lily and Hermione.

Hermione glared at him for the 50th time that day.

"Well, I really have to talk to Professor Dumbledore before everyone leaves…" Lily said, gesturing to most of the students who were leaving the hall.

"Oh that's fine. I think we'll go ahead." Hermione gestured to the three of them who were all done. "Well, it was WONDERFUL meeting you Profe--"

"NO Please. Call me Lily. I'm not THAT old. Well, goodbye. I hope to see you all soon."

"Bye..." they called out, standing up to exit the Great Hall.

She grinned, before going to talk to Dumbledore who was still heartily eating his treacle tart, while humming to himself. Oddly enough, it sounded like a Weird Sister's song.

Lily approached Dumbledore, smiling.

"Hello Professor. Nice to see you," She said, taking Professor McGonagall's empty seat.

"Albus, Lily. It's Albus." He responded, his gaze warm. "Everything all right at home?" He asked, giving her a look that meant: 'Has James killed anyone yet?"

"All is well Prof-Albus. Still not used to calling you that." She said with a laugh.

"Well anyway….um. Well I guess they seem like it...but looks can be deceiving. Pretty friendly...but then again they'd have to be. Granger...unlikely but not impossible. Looks a lot like her though...maybe..." She mumbled under her breath.

He cleared his throat. "Er…Lily? Anything in particular you wanted to tell me?" he said in an amused tone.

"Oh...yes. Sorry." She laughed, her face turning a light shade of pink.

"Do you…Er. Do you trust…Do you trust those three?" She said in a rush, so as to not have a hard time with it anymore.

"Yes." He answered simply.

"Oh." She said, looking at him eagerly as if she expected to know why.

"And, since I can see that you are quite curious, I have my own reasons for trusting them. They are as trustworthy as you and James are."

"Alright then." She said, never doubting Dumbledore's judgment.

"I best be going now...I still have to complete the lesson plan for the 4th years. Things have been hectic..." She rubbed her head tiredly.

"Yes, yes. I quite understand. Go now. You should start early so that you can get a good amount of sleep tonight. 8 hours is best, though I find myself wanting to sleep 12 hours, yet I cannot. Ah well, those are the consequences of being headmaster." He said, chuckling lightly.

"Good Night" She said, waving hurriedly as she ran quickly towards her headquarters.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Well that was…unexpected." Ron said, his voice echoing around the deserted hallways. They had stayed a while in Professor Dumbledore's office, talking with him about the unexpected surprise they had received only a few hours ago. He hadn't really given them answers though. He was being his usual cryptic self.

Harry laughed at Ron's comment; still feeling dazed himself from seeing his dead mother looking so...full of life.

"I can't believe Dumbledore made us teaching assistants without even asking us first!" Hermione huffed.

"What? Does he think were on some joy trip to the past? We have important business here and we have enough on our hands without having to teach little delinquents."

"Well at least YOU TWO got teaching jobs. Dumbledore practically made me a janitor!" Ron said, slightly annoyed. "Now I have to hang out with Filch!"

"Caretaker, Ron." Hermione corrected. "And at least you don't really have to plan anything."

"Yeah" Harry cut in. "All you have to do is tell off couples who sneak out at night to snog in broom cupboards."

"Or maybe just let them snog." Ron commented lightly. Hermione turned around swiftly, looking at Ron in surprise.

"You're actually going to LET them?" She said in disbelief. "But you're supposed to be an AUTHORITY figure! You're not supposed to encourage them!" She said with a glint of anger in her eyes.

"This will the rebellious streak I never had a chance to do in Hogwarts." Ron continued, ignoring Hermione's noises of protest.

"I will be known as the coolest caretaker there ever was." He said, grinning smugly. Harry snickered.

"Oh whatever." Hermione growled, looking at him in disgust. "I STILL want to know why Dumbledore's letting us teach…"

"Well at least we can search the castle now without having to sneak around….plus we can eavesdrop on McGonagall…she may not look it, but she's quite the gossip queen. I've gotten LOADS of information off her before." Ron said, looking quite proud of his "eavesdropping skills."

"Well maybe he wants to keep an eye out for us…make sure we don't screw the future up." Harry suggested.

"It's already screwed enough." Hermione muttered to herself.

"He probably wants to know our intentions…" Ron said, surprisingly insightful. "Like you said 'Mione..." He continued, oblivious to the glare he was getting from the use of that nickname.

"Were not on some joy trip to the past…even HE knows that. So he wants to know what's so important that we had to go to the past. Probably going to do a little spying of his own…"

"I guess that's the most logical explanation." Hermione admitted, looking happy that they had solved that particular problem.

"Here we are." Harry said as they turned a corner and found themselves standing in front of a large portrait of a sweet little girl, with curly tufts of blonde hair falling down her face, nearly covering her bright blue eyes.

"She's sooo cute!" Hermione cooed, waving at the little girl, who waved back, looking a little unsure.

"Uh…Password?" She asked, shyly.

"Er…" Hermione said, trying to think of a suitable password, when a plump lady with the same bright blue eyes stepped into the portrait.

"Oh Goodness!" She exclaimed, looking shocked but delighted.

"Dumbledore never informed me that we had visitors! I would have never left if I knew" She said, looking disappointed at herself for not being there.

"It's been a while since anyone has lived here… far too little people for such a big castle I always say…" She said, chuckling merrily.

"And who might you three be?" She asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Umm… Hermione Granger, Harry Turner and Ron Ashby." She said, pointing to each person in turn.

"Were…assistant teachers here to train for a couple of months. Get some first hand experience." Hermione said, sticking to Dumbledore's cover story.

"Well, you should be quite thankful that you're staying in this room! Magnificent room it is. Very historical...But that story's for another day. Look at me now! Giving you three a history lesson when you should be settling in and having yourselves a rest! Silly me!" She laughed again.

"Bloody Hell, yeah." Ron grumbled. Hermione stepped on his foot.

"Well…what password have you chosen?" She said, not hearing the comment Ron had made.

"Pine fresh." Harry said automatically, stating the first password that came to mind. He was exhausted and just wanted to get to bed.

"Pine fresh it is. Oh, and by the way" She called as they started climbing into the portrait hole.

"My name's Julietta, and this is my daughter Danielle. If you ever need anything, just ask. "

"Alright" Hermione called back, the boys having already stepped into the room.

They waved happily as the portrait door closed shut.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Wow…." Hermione breathed, amazed. The room was of average size, but had 3 staircases, all leading to more rooms. The walls were draped in yellow tapestries, and had large "windows" which weren't actually real windows. They were just parts of the wall that had been enchanted just like the ceiling in the Great Hall. Right now, the sky was covered with bright stars, almost as if the room was welcoming the newcomers just as Julietta had.

"Well, I'm exhausted. See you in the morning." Ron said, yawning and moving towards the nearest staircase.

Hermione gaped at him. "Don't you want to explore a bit? Look around? This room is beautiful! Full of history! Julietta said so herself!"

"I might explore my room," he said, already walking up the stairs. "But after that I'm not going anywhere far from my bed."

"But Ron…." He was already gone.

"Harry?" She looked at him hopefully. He just shrugged and went up a different staircase, stretching and looking ready for a good night's sleep.

Not that SHE would have minded one, but right now, the history of this place was intriguing her to no end.

"Boys…." She muttered, going up the last staircase, deciding that she would explore the next day, when they weren't all half asleep.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

There was a loud crack as an unknown person apparated through the heavy wards surrounding the place.

The handsome face of Tom Riddle contorted in fury as he felt the foreign presence.

"Someone has passed through the borders! Bring him to me" He screamed to his death eaters who were now scurrying away. His voice was filled with anger, but if you looked a little closer you could see….fear? And curiosity?

There was a loud blast and a few screams outside his door, and then all was quiet. Tom Riddle stood up, his wand pointed steadily at the hooded figure walking inside his room.

"Who are you?" He asked in a deadly whisper.

"And I must ask you out of sheer curiosity," He said, his voice dripping with hate and sarcasm.

"How ever did you get past all those shields….More so, the Fidelius charm? Especially when only I can tell others it's location. " He asked, sneering at the lone figure, yet curious all the same.

It lowered it's hood and spoke in that same deadly whisper.

"Because I performed that charm myself."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Harry! Ron!" Hermione called, alternating staircases.

She banged on the door, and a sleepy looking Ron opened the door, still in his boxers.

"Bloody Hell!" Hermione covered her eyes, blushing deeply.

"Wsamatter?" Ron slurred, not noticing his present attire.

"You're still in your boxers." Came the voice of Harry from the other staircase, his hair still wet from the shower, and looking extremely refreshed.

"BLOODY HELL!" Ron yelped, running back into his room and slamming the door shut.

Hermione laughed, embarrassed, while Harry just smirked knowingly.

"YOU!" She pointed her finger at Harry accusingly. "You showered already! I was knocking on your doors for a good 10 minutes and you were already up?" She glared at him.

"Yup."

"Why didn't you just tell me? Would've saved me a lot of trouble. "She grumbled.

"I'm used to waking up early, you shouldn't have even bothered. Hey…don't we have to...erm...teach today? Damn that sounded really weird." Harry mumbled.

"No….our lessons aren't until after lunch which is….in about 2 hours." She said, slipping a glance at her watch.

"So why don't we explore a little." She asked, jumping up and down in anticipation.

"Alright. Let's just wait for Ron to be….decent." He said, watching happily as she blushed yet again.

"I didn't mean to! I didn't know he would be stupid enough to open the door in his boxers!" She said, defending herself.

"Well, you of all people should know the depth of Ron's stupidity."

Before she could shoot back a retort, the door to Ron's quarters creaked open and he stepped back, looking refreshed but a little embarrassed.

"Sorry bout that Hermione….Won't happen again." He mumbled.

"That's alright… Well NOW can we look around?" She asked, her tone changing from timid and embarrassed, to bossy and irritable.

"Alright, alright. Let's go." Harry responded, and they stepped into Ron's room, all of them equally fascinated now.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The trio entered the Great Hall for lunch, still starry eyed from all the amazing things they had found.

"My favorite is still that illusion maker." Ron said enthusiastically as they sat down at the teacher's table to have their meal.

"The look on Hermione's face when she saw that bookcase then fell right through it!"

Hermione glared at them. "Why do you take pleasure in my suffering? What are you…a sadist?" She said, putting heaps of bacon on her plate.

"I just found the look on your face cool….You know, the books were right there but you couldn't get to them." Ron said happily, piling even more bacon onto his plate.

"Well I liked that antique writing desk we found in Harry's room." Hermione said, eager to get some semblance of her dignity back.

"For me it would have to be that cool mirror. Not that I'm vain or anything, because it doesn't even show any reflection. I just…..I like it for some reason." Harry said, drifting off into another wave of thought.

"But I STILL don't know why all the rooms have to be all girly." Ron grumbled, referring to all their rooms, which were all decorates with frills and lace.

"The previous owner was probably a woman." Hermione shrugged, not really caring about the lace.

"Well she should have taken all her junk with her….EXCEPT FOR THE DESK!" He added quickly, misinterpreting Hermione's glare.

She sighed and rubbed her forehead, not really ready for Ron at this time.

"So how was your first night?" Professor Dumbledore turned to them, finally ending his conversation on magical herbs with Professor Sprout.

"It was wonderful!" Hermione answered eagerly. "There are so many wonderful magical things in there."

"Yes the things there are quite…interesting." Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling.

"Are you ready for your first day?" He asked them.

"Well…about that Professor." Harry started, still not sure about the assisting part fitting in with their real plans in the past.

"I'm sure you will all do wonderful jobs." He interrupted, standing up.

"Well, I should be going…..Good luck." He winked at them, leaving the Great Hall gracefully.

They just stared at his back, unbelievingly.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Oh…I wish I was teaching defense instead. At least you'll able to teach with Lily. I don't even know who this Professor Drinda is…for all I know she could be completely biased like Snape." Hermione said while adjusting her teacher's robes.

"Well at least YOU know my mother. I can't even form a coherent sentence around her." Harry said, a little bitterly.

She cast him a sympathetic look. "Oh that was all girl talk. You'll know her soon enough. This is actually a wonderful opportunity for you Harry!" She said excitedly.

"Yeah, I guess." He mumbled.

"Do you guys want to go?" Ron said eagerly, his perspective on being a 'caretaker' changing drastically.

"Yes, we should go." Hermione said, looking at herself in the mirror.

"How do I look?" She asked.

"You look fine. Really…professor-ish. Now let's go…" Ron said, ushering them out with a patch of pink on his cheeks.

They stepped out the portrait hole, waving merrily at Julietta and Danielle, and made their way towards their respective job places.

They dropped Ron off near Filch's office, Ron gulping a little nervously at the familiar sight.

Hermione and Harry continued, until they reached Hermione's destination: The Muggle Studies Classroom.

She turned to Harry and hugged him comfortingly.

"Everything will be fine Harry. You'll see. Just relax." She whispered in his ear before disappearing into the classroom.

Harry continued, alone. His breath hitched when he spotted the portrait of a sleeping man, who was snoring loudly.

He stood in front of the portrait, which was the entrance to his mother's office. It was where they had agreed to meet (Actually it was where Lily and Hermione had agreed the two would meet.) before the first lesson in order to go over some of the things.

"What are you staring at? Are you going in or what?" A rude voice asked him.

Harry turned and saw that the snoring man had woken up. He was glaring at Harry as if his life depended on it.

"Er…yeah. Prongs." He recited the password Lily had given to him, feeling a little uncomfortable at the man's penetrating glare.

"Not so cocky anymore, eh?" The man snickered. "See? THAT'S what it feels like to be stared at. Teach you a lesson not to stare at folks like that."

"Well, can I go in?" Harry asked, now annoyed.

"No." He answered simply.

"Why not?" Harry asked, feeling VERY annoyed now.

"Because I said so." He said, quite smugly.

Just then, the portrait door opened and Lily stepped out, her eyes brightening as she spotted him.

"Harry! There you are….was coming to look for you. Come in, come in. Oh, and how are you today Elmer?" She asked the portrait sweetly. The sneer on his face immediately vanished and was replaced with a look of…fondness.

"Good…Really good." Elmer answered, smiling at her.

"Well, I'll be seeing you."

She passed Harry and whispered in his ear. "The secret is to suck up to him. He'll warm up to you eventually." She said, and climbed into the portrait hole, beckoning him to follow her in.

'Well…this is it.'

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The door opened and Arthur Weasley stepped in, looking exhausted.

"I still haven't managed to contact them. No one has any idea where they are." He said, bending down to kiss his wife, then his daughter.

"How is she?"

Molly looked sadly at her daughter and squeezed her hand which had been intertwined with her own the whole night, before standing up and hugging her husband tightly.

"Oh Arthur…She hasn't woken up yet…Why hasn't she woken up?" She said, her voice muffled as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

He rubbed soothing circles on her back. "Everything will be fine Molly. She's a strong girl. What did the healer say?" He asked, pulling out from the hug.

She sniffed and wiped the sides of her eyes where tears were starting to form.

"Well, physically she's completely normal. But…He's not sure when she'll wake up. But the good news is that she has a 90 chance of waking up soon. The impact wasn't that big, and she didn't hit her head that hard."

"Really?" Arthur said, immediately brightening up.

"Sweetheart, that's wonderful! Why are you still sad then?" He asked, noticing that she was lacking the enthusiasm he had.

"90. Where's the other 10?" She asked him, a lone tear escaping and streaking down her cheek.

"Mom? Dad?" Bill called as he entered the room. Molly immediately wiped her eyes and smiled warmly at him.

"Bill darling, how wonderful to see you. Where's Charlie?" She asked, looking around.

"He went to get some tea downstairs. Where are the twins? And Fleur?"

"They all went for some tea too. They'll probably meet."

He kissed her in the cheek, and smiled at his father.

"I'm just going to get something at home. Do you need anything? Food? Clothes?"

"Well…..can you drop this off at home?" Molly handed him a basket of things, which included Ginny's cloak.

"Should I…..throw this? It's pretty torn." He asked, gesturing to Ginny's cloak.

"Well…I guess. It was getting short for her anyway. When she wakes, I can take her shopping." She said, brightening at the thought of her and her daughter shopping together.

"Alright…I'll be right back. He exited the door, headed for the elevator.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Bill popped in to the familiar kitchen of the burrow. He looked around, and set the basket down on the table, conjuring a bottle of butterbeer.

He sat on the chair, thinking back on the events that had taken place during the last couple of days.

Voldemort was planning something. He could feel it. They could all feel it. And Bill wasn't so sure that the bombing of the Order of the Phoenix headquarters was even the worst of it. He wasn't even sure how they had found them. That meant that there was a traitor in their midst.

'As if I don't have enough to worry about.' He thought, wishing that he could focus on worrying for his sister, but forced to worry about other things like finding a new headquarters for the Order, and preparing for what big thing Voldemort had in store for them.

He took the cloak in his hands and stared at it. Stared at the red blood stains that covered it. His sister's blood.

He closed his eyes and breathed out. He could still vividly remember it. It had only happened last week, but he had a feeling that time wouldn't change how clearly he remembered it.

It was practically embedded in his mind.

He had come upstairs, coughing, trying to search for his family members. Finally, he came and saw both his parents sobbing over a figure on the ground. A figure with long flowing red hair.

"_Harry and Ginny are dating." Ron said, trying to sound a little more cheerful about it. _

"_Really?" Bill asked, feeling protective of his youngest sibling and only sister. _

"_Well, what's not to like about her?" Fred asked, joining them. _

"_I remember Dean telling me during that last interrogation, that he liked….what was that? Oh yes. He said she was hot and had….long flowing red hair?" _

He couldn't stand it. Couldn't stand to be reminded of that horrible night. That horrible night when he saw her lying there, covered head to toe in blood. The same blood on that cloak.

They had said that she had been the most affected since they predicted that she had been closest to the bomb when it had gone off.

He stood up suddenly, cloak in hand, and headed towards the trash bin, ready to get rid of the horrible cloak, when he heard someone yell his name.

"Bill? Charlie?" It was Percy. The Good Percy. The Old Percy. The Neurotic, Obsessive, Workaholic Percy whom he'd take any time over the Ministry supporting, Traitor Percy that had replaced him for a few years.

He ran up the stairs, towards the voice, and met Percy inside Ron's room.

"Bill! Is she alright? I was just going there right now when I heard someone in the house…Thought it might be death eaters." Percy asked, shivering at the thought of death eaters invading their home.

"Yes…we should go there right now. Wait let me just grab my coat." He said, tripping over his own feet and dropping the cloak, not knowing that a time turner had slipped out and rolled under Ron's bed.

"Wait…I need to throw this cloak." He said, picking the time turner-less cloak up from the floor.

Percy stared at it for a moment, then snapped out of his thoughts.

"Alright but we need to hurry! I need to see Ginny!"

Together, they ran down the stairs, disposed of the bloody cloak, then apparated to St. Mungo's, unaware of how close they had been to destroying what little hope the light side had left of winning the war against Voldemort.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A/N: Now it gets interesting…..Please review! I don't mean to sound like I only care about the reviews, because believe me the writing is more rewarding, but I put my sweat and blood into this chapter and I like it a lot better then the other ones. I REALLY hope I get more reviews…They really encourage me not to give up on my stories.

Thanks for reading! Again, please review:)

--charmedtomeetyou


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